Biography

Peter was born in Auckland of Scottish/Irish/English ancestry. He initially graduated from The University of Auckland in the early 1980s with postgraduate training in philosophy and psychology. He practised as a clinical psychologist for 13 years during which he developed specialist expertise in the area of addictive behaviour and violence. This led him into playing an active and often leadership role in community initiatives that included forming a violence collective, establishing innovations in mental health and addiction services, chairing the Problem Gambling Foundation and fostering a variety of workforce initiatives with a community focus. From 1991 on, he brought this enthusiasm for community development into the University. In 2000, restructuring of our faculty provided the opportunity to establish a new section focused specifically on the application of community strength building approaches to health. He has published three sole-authored books: Gambling, Freedom and Democracy (Routledge, 2007), Fragmented Intimacy: Addiction in a Social World (Springer, 2008) and Masculine Empire: How Men Use Violence to Keep Women in Line (Dunmore, 2012) and is currently writing a book contracted by Cambridge University Press, Moral Jeopardy: Risks of Accepting Money from Tobacco, Alcohol and Gambling Industries..